Manser Malaysia complaint thrown out

Children in a traditional shelter in Borneo’s Sawarak state, whose forest is under threat Keystone

The federal public prosecutor has rejected a complaint filed in January by the rainforest advocacy group Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) against four banks for their dealings with the Malaysian Taib clan.

The BMF and Social Democrat parliamentarian Carlo Sommaruga had accused the banks – UBS, Edmond de Rothschild, Pictet and Deutsche Bank – of supporting a criminal organisation.

“This passivity must finally come to an end and the law must be applied,” BMF wrote in its complaint, noting that it had repeatedly drawn attention to and submitted proof of the Taib family’s wrongdoings.
 
According to BMF, Abdul Taib Mahmud, the head of government of Sawarak state on the island of Borneo since 1981, is chiefly responsible for the massive destruction of the state’s rainforest, while amassing a family fortune of some $20 billion (SFr18.2 billion) through abuse of office, corruption and monopolies.
 
However, the public prosecutor said on Tuesday that after corresponding consideration, it would not pursue the complaint. It said only one of the banks had a customer relationship with two members of the Taib family and that those accounts had been closed in 1999.

It also said there were no further indications of organisational negligence.

Bruno Manser Fund (BMF)

The Basel-based Bruno Manser Fund campaigns for threatened tropical rainforests and the rights of their inhabitants.

It focuses its activities on the Penan people of Sarawak in particular and maintains related projects and campaigns in Malaysia and Europe.

It is financed by donations from private individuals, foundations and selected businesses. Individual projects also receive support from communal and cantonal funds.